Hot Peaches

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Hot Peaches was a drag theatre company in New York City that would put on one play a week, active from the 1970s-1990s. Hot Peaches was founded by Jimmy Camicia in 1972, who encountered a group of drag queens and began writing work for them to perform. [1] Their work has been described as "political camp, dominated by drag". [1]

Contents

Notable Members

Troupe Culture

While the group's main objective was performance, Hot Peaches' primary function was to provide a nurturing queer community, and a platform for members self-expression. [1] Camicia has been quoted as saying "We're not actors, we're entertainers. Rather than becoming the script, the script becomes us." [1] The impact of the community on its members also included interactions with fellow drag performance groups and queer revolutionaries. Jimmy Camicia and Peggy Shaw were influenced by a conversation on feminism with Mallory Jones, sister of Kate Millett, and thus instituted feminist messages into their performances. [1]

The early work of the company often created their performances around the fashion and outfits its performers wanted to wear. These outfits were often ostentatious, sparkling glam outfits, which included platform boots, glitter, tinsel and feather boas. [5] The vibrancy of the troupe's costumes became a defining moment during their European tour stop in Berlin in 1978, when they lent their wardrobe to the Spiderwoman Theater, whose luggage had been lost during travel. [5] The two groups had conflicting styles. According to Lois Weaver, the Spiderwomen were a feminist troupe devoted to "deconstructing the feminist image," while Hot Peaches' wardrobe consisted of "excessive femininity". [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Davy, Kate (2010). Lady Dicks and Lesbian Brothers: Staging the Unimaginable at the WOW Café Theatre. University of Michigan Press. ISBN   978-0-472-07122-7.
  2. ↑ "Feature Doc 'Pay It No Mind: The Life & Times of Marsha P. Johnson' Released Online. Watch It". Indiewire . September 24, 2015. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019. 27:15
  3. ↑ Bunyan, Dr Marcus. "Hot Peaches". Art Blart. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
  4. ↑ Gianoulis, Tina (2015). "Theater Companies" (PDF). GLBTQ– via glbtq archive.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Lipkin, Joan; Hervie, Jen; Weaver, Lois (2018). "Glitter, False Eyelashes, and Attitude". The Women's Review of Books. 35 (1): 25–27. ISSN   0738-1433. JSTOR   26433258.
  6. ↑ Burns, Sean (2019-07-15). "In Pictures: Bloolips and the Empowering Joy of Dressing Up". Frieze. Retrieved 2022-12-10.
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